The Project
Arctic and Earth SIGNs project is focused on three central goals: 1) develop a high-quality climate change education program that includes NASA assets (resources and experts), citizen science, and mobile technology for formal and informal science education settings; 2) Engage educators and community members in learning experiences to model best practice for inquiry-based, culturally responsive climate change science teaching; and 3) Engage youth, community members, and educators in locally and globally important science where they produce and apply new information on the impact of a changing global climate.
Our Work
Through both formative and summative evaluation components, three main areas of focus for the evaluation of this project are the extent to which project activities improve STEM instruction, the extent to which underrepresented youth and members of the public are engaged in STEM, and an increase in scientific literacy among participants.
Usefulness of Our Work
Formative reporting will help the project fine-tune its engagement of teachers, youth, and members of the public in citizen science activities – including training opportunities and mid-project support. Summative findings will aim to provide data that is useful for creation of future programs as well as viable for publications around engagement in citizen science.